Their ouster is seen as an escalation of the purge against party members loyal to former Vice President Joice Mujuru, who was hounded out of office last year on accusations she was plotting to unseat Mugabe, 90.

The Politburo also readmitted two legislators, Jonathan Samkange of Mudzi South and Bikita West’s Munyaradzi Kereke, who were expelled in 2013 after contesting as independents.

First Lady Grace Mugabe attended the Politburo sitting for the first time since being elected leader of the Zanu PF Women’s League in December.

For perspective, we reached analyst and political lecturer at the Huddersfield University in England, Nkululeko Sibanda.